The present invention relates in general to explosive energy devices and more particularly concerns a novel energy device that can produce a predetermined amount of available energy for use in gas generators or the like, that is small in form, and is easy and inexpensive to fabricate in large or small quantities.
Due to the demand in the past few years for explosive warheads and explosive weapons to operate more efficiently against a variety of targets it has been necessary in some cases to provide initiating devices that have more flexibility than prior igniters. For example, it may be desirable in many cases to sense a parameter or parameters of a warhead such as its speed and cause a change in the initiation pattern of the explosive in the warhead. Another situation where a variable explosive energy source is desirable is with fuel air explosive devices that are designed to operate at high speeds. A common expedient in this type of device is to drop fuel loaded canisters from an aircraft. The fuel in the canisters is dispersed into a large fuel air cloud a predetermined distance above ground in the target area and is detonated whenever the fuel air mixture reaches explosive proportions. By enclosing the apparatus of the disclosed variable energy source in an enclosed chamber, a gas generator can be formed for ejecting a cloud detonator or detonators into the explosive cloud formed by a fuel air explosive weapon with a force that is dependent upon the free fall velocity of the weapon as it falls toward the ground target.
Prior art attempts to solve the need for a variable energy source have involved the use of multiple detonators designed to fire simultaneously when initiated by means of electrical circuitry. Other devices have used a number of different explosive charges having weighted explosive values. In operation, a charge is chosen that has the desired gas generating volume and only it is electrically detonated. These types of devices are necessarily complex and require dependance on various configurations of electrical switching techniques to properly detonate the charge or charges. This increased complexity can affect the reliability of operation of a system and increase its cost.